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The Floridian in me was actually excited, especially because I was warm and cozy in the train. I have experienced a little bit of snow in Nara City, but it was just a small dusting. It’s hard to believe there is a prefecture more rural than Nara. The scenery of Mie was very pretty, but also pretty empty. It only took me about 1 ½ hrs to get there. I boarded the train bound for Kamo, Kyoto then switched to the super rural trains to get to Iga. There were (are?) two major ninja clans in Japan: Iga Clan in Mie and the Koga clan in Shiga. Their victory on the battlefield would help build a reputation as one of the most feared mercenary units in Japan.I visited the ninja village of Iga in Mie Prefecture. Exceptional training and the intelligent use of their environment allowed the Iga warriors to overcome their considerable numerical inferiority.

The Iga ninjas had, for a time, thwarted the incursions of one of the most powerful clans in Japan. Although the surviving Iga ninjas that managed to flee the province continued to practice and spread ninjutsu, the Iga would never again raise to prominence. The surrender of the final Iga outpost led to a brutal massacre. Aided by ninjas of the Koga, Nobunaga would crush the Iga resistance. Soon afterwards Nobou’s father, Oda Nobunaga himself, would lead an army nearly four times the size of the first invasion force to attack the Iga province once again. Although the famous battle proved unconventional warfare could prevail against a numerically superior enemy, the Oda clan would not be denied their victory for long. Nobou survived and returned to his father in humiliation. Yet still, the Iga ninjas continue their slaughter.Īt last, their thirst for blood slacked, the Iga allowed the defeated enemy to escape. Rain poured from the heavens and turned the valley into a muddy quagmire as the shadows lengthened into evening. As the direness of the situation circulated through the men, the army quickly began to disintegrate commanders committed seppuku, samurai died of friendly fire, and fleeing foot soldiers became lost in the foggy woods.

News quickly reached Nobuo that the Iga had also occupied the passes behind him, cutting off his retreat. Iga spearmen and swordsmen took advantage of the surprise to carve bloody paths through the confused enemies. Volleys of arrows hammered down into the weary samurai and foot soldiers, felling great numbers. The Iga waited until Nobou entered the valley near Iseji and then sprung their trap. Unfortunately for Nobuo, roughly 5,000 Iga ninja had prepared for his arrival. After dividing his army into three columns to traverse the steep mountain passes surrounding the Iga province, roughly 12,000 of his warriors converged on the village of Iseji. The act enraged Nobuo and he immediately sought retribution through a full-scale invasion. Unfortunately, the Iga ninjas had already infiltrated his workforce and, armed with foreknowledge that Nobuo planned to eventually subdue the whole province, they decided to burn the castle to the ground in a night raid. Oda Nobuo, acting on his father’s orders, first attempted to obtain a foothold into the province of Iga by capturing and fortifying Maruyama Castle. A traditional stronghold of ninjutsu practitioners, the Iga province proved too formidable an opponent for the young general. Nobuo’s disastrous defeat haunted his dreams for many years. He watched, the thought still half-formed, as hundreds of fletched arrows whistled through the mist to impale the shocked warriors around him. Only the ragged breathing of his men disturbed the silence.

Oda Nobuo paused to stare into the thick woods around him. The mist parted, swirling through the leaves.